Where to get first unsecured credit card? Update: Amex Everyday Approved

[Anonymous]

I have been reading myFICO forums for a few days now on how to proceed. Long story short: moved to the US almost a year ago and got a secured credit card with Citi. I´m AU in a Double Casback with $12,600 of SL. My average age of credit is now 8 months, and my FICO score is 715. Equifax and Transunion 739/738.

Should I go ahead and apply for my first unsecured credit card? I'm considering the Amex Blue Cash Everyday: looks like I have good approval odds (when I go to the pre-approval website I get the green/gold and the bluecash), and I already have a relationship since I have a corporate card with them (although it doesn´t count for credit score). Would it be better to stick with Citi since it's where I have everything (credit card, the one I´m AU, checking/savings accounts, etc.)? Or maybe should I wait a few more months and apply directly to a better card?

Any feedback will be more than welcome.

Mod note:  I've updated your thread subject to reflect your approval; feel free to edit/change if you would like.  --UncleB

[HeavenOhio]

Citi is a tough one to get early in the credit game. But the fact that you have their secured card might help. How long have you had it?

Are you seeing a definite APR (e.g. 17%) on the AMEX pre-qual vs. a range (12–24%)? If you're seeing a definite APR, the pre-qual is likely solid. If it's a range, consider it to be advertising.

Capital One has unsecured products that you should be able to get right now, notably their Platinum card. That's a better option than their QuicksilverOne as the Platinum is easier to product-change into a nice Quicksilver card down the road. However, it's possible that you might qualify for a Quicksilver right now. Check out Capital One's pre-qual page. Again, if you see a definite APR, you're likely to be in pretty good shape.

[Anonymous]

Where are you getting your credit scores from?

[Anonymous]

The credit scores are from Credit Karma, and the FICO is provided by Citi (a few months ago started appearing on my account). I have had the secured card since December 2016, so 10 months now. FWIW, it has a limit of $2,500.

As for the preapproval offer, I get  "xxxxxxx, you're Pre-Qualified for this offer. after you spend $1,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. You will receive the $150 back in the form of a statement credit.†0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 15 months, then a variable rate, currently 17.99%." Since the APR is not variable, does that mean that my odds are indeed good?

Also, back to Citi, the person I always deal with (she's the one who set everything up) told me 3-4 months ago to come back in a few months when my credit score was a little bit better to see if they could get me a better card. Does applying for a card from the branch mean I have better odds?

[K-in-Boston]

The scores from Credit Karma are Vantage 3.0 scores rather than FICO scores; no major lender uses those and they can differ by as much as 100 points.  The Citi score is an Equifax FICO 08 Bankcard Enhanced score, which will differ from the regular Equifax FICO 08 score but usually not too much.  You can get a free Experian FICO 08 score each month from Discover even if you're not a cardholder at creditscorecard.com

The American Express offer is likely a very solid one; I would say your odds of approval are quite good!  Generally once you get into the 700s for a credit score you can be approved for most unsecured cards, but may not get the most favorable terms.  The Blue Cash EverDay goes as low as 13.99% but they are not offering a super-high APR, and the good news is that American Express can and does lower APRs upon request as your relationship with them and credit profile improve.  You may also want to check the Bank of America and Discover prequalification webites to look for similar offers with a given APR.  Best of luck and welcome to the forums!

[Anonymous]

thank you for all the info. A few more questions and I'm done

- creditscorecard.com: is this legit? I already receive a gazillion letters from Discover with preapprovals, so I don't want to make it worse lol.

- since I already have a corporate amex which is in the MR program... If I were to apply to Amex, would it make more sense to app for the Everyday instead of the Bluecash? Can I combine points from different cards?

This credit card world is new to me... Where I come from, people usually get 1-2 credit cards with the bank where they have all the accounts and that's it. Just by looking at people here with 20+ cards I get dizzy haha.

thank you for all your help!

[K-in-Boston]

---

@Anonymous wrote:

thank you for all the info. A few more questions and I'm done

- creditscorecard.com: is this legit? I already receive a gazillion letters from Discover with preapprovals, so I don't want to make it worse lol.

- since I already have a corporate amex which is in the MR program... If I were to apply to Amex, would it make more sense to app for the Everyday instead of the Bluecash? Can I combine points from different cards?

This credit card world is new to me... Where I come from, people usually get 1-2 credit cards with the bank where they have all the accounts and that's it. Just by looking at people here with 20+ cards I get dizzy haha.

thank you for all your help!

---

Sorry to make you dizzy!  Yes, creditscorecard.com is completely legitimate.  It's a fairly recent offering from Discover, but I am sure they do indeed use it for marketing purposes too.  You can opt out of preapprovals, but that is an all or nothing choice.

Is the corporate American Express card your account, or are you a user on it?  If it's your account, you may be able to have personal cards in the same Membership Rewards account - I would ask in the Business Credit section here just to confirm that.  You cannot combine points or product change between Membership Rewards-earning cards and cash-earning cards.  Many people in the States also usually get 1-2 credit cards with the bank where they have all of their accounts and leave it at that, too!  At myFICO, we're not a crowd known for representing the average credit card user!  LOL

[Anonymous]

I'm indeed a user on that amex, and I have an account where I make payments, check my points, etc. I'm also paying $90 a year for the MR program (travel a lot because of work). That's why I was wondering if the points from both cards are "worth the same", and I could combine them. I'll ask amex support.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Reading through your post, I think you are now in a good position to apply for any of the prime cards. If you want to get your FICO 8 scores across all 3 bureaus, you may want to check out CCT (credit check total (dot) com) and sign up for their trial membership for a dollar, which you can cancel at anytime. This allows you access to all your3B reports and scores upon signing up for membership and an extra report refresh after 7 days. As far as what to consider, it depends on what you want to use it for. Cash back rewards? Miles? Since you said you travel a lot for work. I'd say AMEX, Chase and or BofA would be great banks to help with your goals as well. If you currently have an AMEX account already, you can open one of their personal revolvers. 

[Anonymous]

Again, thanks everyone for your feedback!

I just applied for the Amex EveryDay (I confirmed with Amex that the points from this one and the ones from my corporate card can "work together") and got instant approval for $2,000 SL. I'll apply for my first CLI in 61 days